1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a mounting structure for a display unit in a refrigerator which is mounted to a front surface of a refrigerator door to display a variety of information to the outside and to receive operating signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refrigerators are household appliances for refrigerating or freezing foods and then storing the foods at a fresh state for a long while. Recently, a multi-purpose refrigerator having an additional function of allowing a user to watch television or connect to the Internet in addition to a unique function of storing foods therein has been placed on the market.
FIG. 1 shows an external appearance of a refrigerator mounted with a related art display unit, and FIG. 2 shows a side section of the display unit shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in these figures, a main body 10 of the refrigerator is provided with a certain storage space divided into a refrigerating chamber (not shown) and a freezing chamber (not shown). The freezing and refrigerating chambers are selectively opened or closed by a freezing chamber door 11 and a refrigerating chamber door 13, respectively. The freezing and refrigerating chamber doors 11 and 13 are installed to be pivoted horizontally on both side ends of the main body 10, respectively. The freezing and refrigerating chamber doors 11 and 13 are supported on the main body 10 to be pivoted on a pair of hinges h1 and h2.
A home bar (not shown) is provided in a portion of the refrigerating chamber door 13. The home bar is selectively opened or closed by a home bar door 15. The home bar door 15 is installed to be pivoted vertically on a specific point on a front surface of the refrigerating chamber door 13.
An accommodating space 17 is provided at a position on a front surface of the freezing chamber door 11. A display unit 20 which will be explained later is received in the accommodating space 17. The accommodating space 17 takes the shape as a flat box with an open front face to correspond to the shape of the display unit 20.
Meanwhile, a main control unit 19 is provided on a top surface of the main body 10. The main control unit 19 serves to control the operation of the refrigerator. One end of a lead wire W is connected to the main control unit 19, and the other end of the lead wire W is connected to a male connector C1 provided at a position on a lower side of the accommodating space 17 through the hinge h1 and the freezing chamber door 11.
The display unit 20 is retractably mounted to the accommodating space 17. The display unit 20 is also connected to the main control unit 19 by means of the lead wire W1. To this end, a female connector C2 to be coupled with the male connector C1 is provided on a lower surface of the display unit 20. The display unit 20 receives electric power and a variety of electrical signals from the main control unit 19 through the lead wire W.
A casing 21 defines an external appearance of the display unit 20. A plurality of openings or holes are formed in a front surface of the casing 21. A predetermined installation space is provided in the casing 21.
A control unit 23 and a communication unit 27 are installed in the installation space of the casing 21. The control unit 23 and the communication unit 27 are exposed to the outside through the openings and/or holes formed in the front surface of the casing 21.
The control unit 23 is to operate the refrigerator. The control unit 23 includes a display part 24 for displaying a variety of information regarding the refrigerator operation to the outside and an input part 25 for receiving a variety of operating signals needed to operate the refrigerator.
The communication unit 27 is to output a variety of images or sounds or connect to the Internet. The communication unit 27 receives signals from the outside to output images or to display information about the Internet to the outside and simultaneously receives operating signals for the image output or information display in touch screen mode.
A plurality of speaker holes 29 are formed at positions on the front surface of the casing 21. The speaker holes 29 are to transmit sounds outputted from the control unit 23 and/or the communication unit 27 to the outside. The speaker holes 29 are formed at both sides of the control unit 23 to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval.
Although it has not illustrated in the figures, a fixing means for preventing the display unit 20 from being inadvertently withdrawn from the accommodating space 17 is provided. The fixing means selectively allows the display unit 20 to retractably installed in the accommodating space 17.
However, the conventional mounting structure for a display unit in a refrigerator so configured has the following problems.
As described above, the connectors C1 and C2 for connecting the main control unit 19 to the display unit 20 are provided at the lower side of the accommodating space 17 and the lower surface of the display unit 20, respectively. Therefore, when the display unit 20 is withdrawn from the accommodating space 17, the connectors C1 and C2 are exposed to the outside. As a result, an overall aesthetic sense of the refrigerator may be deteriorated Further, when the display unit 20 has been withdrawn from the accommodating space 17, the connectors C1 and C2 exposed to the outside may be damaged. Therefore, there is a problem in that the display unit 20 may be incorrectly operated or a user may receive an electric shock by electricity leaked though the damaged connectors C1 and C2.
Even though the connectors C1 and C2 are positioned as described above, the display unit 20 can be withdrawn from or accommodated into the accommodating space 17. However, the display unit 20 should be fixed at a certain position in the accommodating space 17 to use the display unit 20. As a result, there is a possibility that a field of view of the display unit 20 cannot be ensured depending on positions of the user.